When the drift was near the end I moved to the bridge where I found a captain Valtair more worried than what I was thinking.

"We are heading to a Teculpa outpost" she said "but the Teculpa are the people that made Rafkins throw us out of their ship"

I took a note in my mind to find why the captain was so dull in understanding aliens. "Teculpa-Tau did it, this is an outpost of the Teculpa-Ryon. Definitely something different"

"Different how?"

"Teculpa-Ryon are the only Teculpa family formally allied with the human race... and they hate the Tau"

"First good news of the day"

One of the crew on the bridge annunced "Drift's end". As always, when the ship stopped drifting, I felt a shiver down my spine and goosebumps raised all over my skin. I sat down, knowing that the following moments would be full of duties for the captain. Infact, reports started arriving from every station on the bridge.

"Hull integrity 100%. Energy consumption 5%. Hollow engine disengaged. Normal thrust restored"

"Kaus Borealis system. Giant red. Two planets. Known installations: Teculpa-Ryon Outpost Hettula."

"Outpost beacon found in orbit around Kaus Borealis I. Sending ship signature"

The crewman that spoke next used the same plain vocabulary of all the others, but it's voice was different enough to worry both me and the captain. "There's something around Kaus Borealis II. Not expected. Sixteen signatures"

"Deeper analysis!" asked Valtair.

"Ships. Destroyer dimension."

"Warships?"

There was no point letting them go on guessing. "Teculpa have only warships, captain" I stated "They think that building a ship without weapons is a waste of resources"

Valtair was a good captain. Worried for the warships but still cold and rational. "You lead me here, diplomat Callus. What can you tell me about them?"

"Sixteen is the number of a Teculpa cohort. They shouldn't be here. I fear Teculpa-Ryon brought them here after the marauder's accident"

"Are they hostile? I have to remember you that the Queen Charlotte can't stand against just one of those little wasps"

One of the crewmen, going on with the reports, said "They stand still. No movement"

When you're dealing with the Teculpa during a crisis you can't never be sure about what they will do, but I was an alien expert and a diplomat, and I thought that an... optimistic behavior could do better. "There's nothing to fear captain. They will not move"

"Because we're... formally allied?"

"Because, as you said, we are harmless. Keep going toward the outpost, waiting for communications from there"

"I'll do, diplomat, but I'll keep an eye on those destroyers too"

Nothing happened for few minutes, then a request of link came from the outpost. Captain gave order to open communications and the sibilant, but solemn voice of a Teculpa flew through the intercom.

"Hettula Outpost, here. The True Emperor rules. Do you accept his reign?"

At last, my usual, boring work made of long, baroque expressions. "I'm diplomat Callus, I speak in the name of the human senate. We respect the power of the True Emperor and the legacy of the Teculpa-Ryon. We ask for docking and I'd be glad to talk with someone about the present crisis"

A long pause, a long breath and only a word. "Wait"

"It looks like we're not welcomed here" commented Valtair, nervously joking.

"You will not find new friends, here, but I think you wasn't intended to"

The voice came back on intercom. "Diplomat Callus, Prefect Hiraku wants to meet you. Docking permission granted. Hettula out"

The silence fell on the bridge. I felt the need of the others to hear something from me. I thought it was the weight of the leadership. "So Prefect Hiraku is here"

"Yeah" captain Valtair was going on with her irritating and mostly faked fearless cowboy attitude. "The good'ol Hiraku, right?"

"Prefect is an administrative title so you could image he is just a bureaucrat that manage to give his people food and water everyday here in the deep space"

 "I'll imagine that... but?"

"If this Prefect Hiraku is the Hiraku I know, we're talking about one of the most deadly warmongers at the service of the True Emperor"